Tajikistan Seized 4.6 Tons Of Drugs In 2005

A poppy plant in Afghanistan, the source of tons of heroin seized in Tajikistan in 2005 (AFP)
11 January 2006 -- Tajik authorities said today that they seized 4.6 tons of illegal drugs last year, including 3.5 tons of heroin from neighboring Afghanistan.

Tajik drugs-squad spokesman Avaz Yuldashev said in 2005, Tajik authorities arrested almost 100 Afghan traffickers trying to bring drugs across the border, a larger number than in previous years.

In 2004, 8.1 tons of drugs -- including 4.8 tons of heroin -- were seized in Tajikistan, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of opium.